Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope

Some children's books are read to them at times when they fall to sleep or when they just wake and are really with you, in a classroom after lunch at U Pick It Time, and these moments contain the hope and dreams of the reader for the child....yes in a way it is the instilling of this...yes, we do that. As a teacher the greatest sadness comes when no one cares enough to do that or really cannot in illiteracy and poverty or in a state that they are so self involved and cynical they are frozen. Perhaps it's a song sung into the heart of a child as our meanings, we desire they fully attend on some unseen level, and the personal prayer of continuing on this represents is wished into them. It will come into their being as meaningful one day, our hope. You cannot find that wrong. It is the work of the adults in raising children, ever a hard and important work.Nikki Grimes' text is read like this into children.This book opens with the premise that this is being told on a day from a mother to son, a song of hope and an embodiment of that being demonstrated as she tells him Obama's story. He is sitting, questioning, applying, making text connection of course to SELF. Just as a child will do with a great story. How am I like him. It's meant to connect to King on some invisible level, and contains other echoes and it does something here hard to write.....it connects. Here hope for future is repeated like a refrain to the child, explained, put into real form as an example within Barack Obama's life.... over the paralyzing of fear, poverty, really the notions that hold us back, and the drain of inadequacy and measuring up is being eschewed. Hope is defined and displayed as the operant within this leader. As an operant for this child from his mother to hold in hard times as meaning.If only it can be heard.I like the way the story works because I recognize her poetic devices and I like the way this telling mother and son keep reappearing in this text so that we take it back into our lives, into real lives and into personal contexts. Great device used by a master writer. Don't forget who is writing, you get nothing but masterful in her text.Now I really like the beautiful illustrations and know this artist from other work. I'd prefer exact likenesses of Obama, these aren't, but even there I suspect it's more off to give this to the thought that it might be many of our stories. It's funny but it calls to me of the lines and stiffness of Grant Wood and WPA artists. I hope fervently artists are employed again to transmit the message of hope to this nation in this our worst crisis in many years. Great work.Books like this are so great as classroom gifts. We most likely lack them and (at least in CA) our schools are being dismantled through the politics of greed, and now AFTER the choice was made of a leader, it is nice to delve into teaching children as positively as possible about the President. We teach to young children who is their nation's leader naturally. It's so confusing for them these concepts. One of mine happily thinking MLK was now back as the President with a new life and name. It helps to be able to use story, and here story based in a man telling his life in his own way. Nice to share this "how to grow up" construct of making choices based in hope with kids. You know kids in my room are very young, in difficult lives, they need to see successful males demonstrate in their choices hope (and in their lives reach toward love and hope.) Over half my class knows no Dad and some are in foster care with the greatest of difficulties to face daily and from inside their contexts they must spring into good lives.Yes, they can. Here, finally a man does not give in to the inclination to see difficulties as destroying him, but making him who he is. A quilt of meaning.You have to take that from this book. A song of hope sung to children.I recommend it along with some reins on the politicizing and deploying of cynicism into the young. They are on a long journey. It matters to know some hope along the way. Our job might be to pass that along.

I think Nikki Grimes' middle name must be Lyric. There is poetry on every single page of this book. Poetry, and as the title says, Promise and Hope. Grimes, ever the artist in words, weaves her images with historical facts in presenting this biography of the man who may very well change the world, through the words of a mother explaining to her son just who this guy with the "mouthful" of a name and the people shouting.From a strictly educational standpoint, this is a wonderful book for teaching metaphor, simile, and descriptive language. It's absolutely lush with images. The teachers in the school where I work as a librarian are already drooling over this one. Here are a couple of quotes to illustrate my point:"His family stretched from Kansas to Kenya, his mama, white as whipped cream, his daddy, black as ink...Love is the bridge that held them all together.""Honolulu looked like heaven. But even though the blue of the sea was sharp enough to slice the sun, and the sun warmed the sand between his toes, and the sand sparkled like diamonds, nothing could fill the hole in Barry's heart once his daddy went away."Tough issues are handled here with grace and compassion, and so is the exotic childhood landscape in which Barack Obama was privileged to grow up, beauty and harshness together. Grimes presents these for young readers in such a way as to let them know that this boy went through both good times and hard times, and as he grew into a man, he learned from his life experiences and listened and watched and soaked in the voice of Hope, and later, prayerfully, the voice of God.As I read, I was moved by the beauty of Grimes' language, but also by the beauty of the message here. The mother and son's dialog seemed tacked on at first, and distracted me from it, but as I read, I understood that Grimes had imbued the boy with the voice of the young reader, that he was asking the questions they would ask, and making the connections that many of them would make. Brilliant.Some may call this over-the-top on the glorification of Obama, but I call it rich writing. It is engaging and I am looking forward to sharing this with our students. Besides, if ever there was a time we needed an over-the-top message of Hope, perseverence, and the breaking down of barriers, it's now, and most especially for this generation.The art, well, much of it is just breathtaking. I wish I could share more of it here. It's a mix of textures and colors, torn images, paint, and lines, and it all blends together - a great reflection of the lyricism in Grimes' words.I highly recommend this book. Love is indeed the bridge that holds us all together, after all. "Can we make America better? Can we work together as one?" Yes, we can.Roxyanne YoungEditorial DirectorSmartWriters.com

I bought this book to counteract the nasty, vicious, hateful reviews. Is this book over the top in some ways? Could be, but I respect Nikki Grimes' reputation as a writer. Bryan Collier is a brilliant illustrator. Beautiful work. I cannot wait to receive it and give it to my young niece.This book IS FOR CHILDREN. What do you expect, a steely-eyed analysis of Obama's weaknesses? Please find me a political biography, FOR CHILDREN, that does that.A few years ago, I attended a children's play at a church. They mentioned God, Jesus, and George Bush as if it were a holy trinity. Did I rise up and stomp my feet? Shriek at the inappropriate anointing? No. I smiled, put on a brave face, and kept my mouth shut.BECAUSE IT WAS FOR CHILDREN.If you are making nasty political remarks to hurt this author, you need to find a better use for your time. Because it's easy, it's it? You sit back and vent your spleen, then chuckle while a writer's reputation is tarnished. Good for you. Perhaps, the next time your child or young relative comes to you and complains about bullying, you'll have a great deal of experience to draw upon.You may not agree with the content or portrayal. You are free not to read it. You are free not to buy it. If you wish to write a review, please consider the intended audience. Hint: it's not you.There are many African-American CHILDREN who need this book. Desperately. They need a role model who is not an athlete. They need a positive image of a person of color who is from modern times. Politics or no politics, it's an example of success. And if picture books have the power to "brainwash" children, then you should be paying authors a small fortune.

Love this book. It focuses on many aspects of Obama, including his fear of not fitting in because he is not like his mother or father. Brilliant book for mixed race children.

Goods as described. Fast shipping. Highly recommend

A lovely book in mint condition.